Oriana questions

[BarnhamDave]

Faded bed linen, dirty sheets. Torn chair upholstery and worn carpets. Tatty bathroom. Many public toilets out of order. Empty pool. This was our experience in April and never to be repeated.[/quote

 

but apart from that it was ok yeh

[bkecky]

I'm a little late in posting this but I thought I would let you all know how we got on with Oriana vs. QV.

 

It's hard to beat the QV on first impressions of her interiors and the Oriana just could not compete. The ship did seem tired in parts and the cabin could have done with a few touch ups. However the size was adequate and it did the job for what we needed it for. There was a lot of storage space, which was excellent as I don't travel light! Our cabin steward was very friendly and efficient but as we don't really have requests whilst on board I cannot comment further.

 

One area that was better for us was the entertainment, possibly due to us being in our 20s. We made good friends with the entertainment staff and enjoyed having more karaoke nights and quizzes. In fact the entertainment staff seemed to be out and about the ship a lot more than on Cunard and the entertainment director was seen on a daily basis (sometimes I have rarely seen the ED on Cunard). The party sailaways were a little OTT - we may be in our 20s but we don't really enjoy the YMCA/Summer Holiday/In the Navy around the pool! Still, lots of others seemed to be getting into the spirit of things... But we seemed to just generally do a lot more in the day than on Cunard. The downside was the lack of a ballroom so the ballroom dancing took place in the nightclub until 11pm. This meant that by the time the disco began the place was empty. Not to say we wanted to disco all night but I quite like the option of ballroom dancing in the Queen's Room or going to the various themed nights in Hemispheres. By the time the disco started it was inevitably only crew members in there so we did have some fun with them and they saved our evenings! Ballroom dancing in a disco just didn't seem as elegant as the Queen's Room and I missed that elegance.

 

As mentioned, the entertainment staff were great. The bar staff, on the other hand, left a lot to be desired with the exception of the Lord's Tavern where it took them a while to warm to us but after that took great care of us. On the deck the service was even worse... Lucky to get a smile or good morning from anyone. I think I have become used to every crew member greeting you on the QV, regardless of what their job is but on Oriana I felt almost ignored on some occasions when I greeted crew and they ignored me! Maybe they didn't enjoy my singing on the karaoke...

 

I also really missed the formality of dressing up, although the dress of others didn't affect us and we still dressed formally. The formal nights often seemed like informal on Cunard. This seemed to give us a lot of stares and made us feel self-conscious initially but by week two we honestly didn't care! The Captain's cocktail party was also strange in that it was in the Pacific Lounge so everyone was sitting in rows rather than mingling. Still, not a big thing in the overall cruise.

 

The worst part for us was the food... I have eaten in the Britannia for a few cruises but usually dine in the Queen's Grill. And oh, how I craved either! Food was at best warm, small portions and rushed in the MDR. My poor grandmother nearly lost an eye from the waiter's haste to remove her plate and the knife falling on to her face! The apology seemed to be for him to offer her some extra vegetables with her main course. The service was generally lacklustre in the MDR and I don't recall the maitre'd coming to our table aside from the first night. I was actually quite surprised at this as our previous trip on Oriana in the Oriental was great (although many years ago). So we decided to use the alternative dining wherever possible. The first time we went to the Ocean Grill it took 1 hour and 45 minutes to receive our main course when the restaurant was only a third full. The same happened when we tried the alternative outdoor dining. Unfortunately we had been eagerly awaiting the alternative dining with it's Mexican food, as my fiance is Mexican. However it was clearly not Mexican although we do acknowledge that authentic Mexican food is hard to come by. This was simply a hard shell taco with some minced beef. I have made better with the pre-prepared kits at home! I actually wasn't aware how important food on holiday was to me until this cruise and I found myself rushing off in port to eat something hot and delicious! It added a significant cost to the cruise to dine in the alternative but after five nights in the MDR, we just couldn't take it any more. Also the cocktails were tiny! And the mojitos were basically soda, vodka and mint with no muddling. We avoided these after our first experience. Perhaps we have been spoiled by the Commodore Club!

 

Although my comparison seems largely negative, we actually had a fantastic cruise so I can only put it down to the company and some of the crew we met who made it very special. I would happily sail on Oriana again now knowing what to expect but my grandparents have other plans so we will be back on the QV this summer! In essence it was more of a fun atmosphere and we threw ourselves into that. I think they are just two different products and I would certainly use either in the future.

Edited February 13, 2016 by bkecky

[jeanlyon]

I don't recognize that description of Oriana about being tatty etc. However, I have to agree with the last poster than the food in the MDR was mediocre, however, we found the service to be very good. In fact, our waiter was very concerned when we sent back yet another plate of food. My fish was grey, tasteless and not cooked properly. Anyway we are back on board Oriana this October, so I am hoping for better. I defin itely didn't find her tatty and as for dirty sheets, I'm sorry, just don't believe it.

[bkecky]

I don't recognize that description of Oriana about being tatty etc. However, I have to agree with the last poster than the food in the MDR was mediocre, however, we found the service to be very good. In fact, our waiter was very concerned when we sent back yet another plate of food. My fish was grey, tasteless and not cooked properly. Anyway we are back on board Oriana this October, so I am hoping for better. I defin itely didn't find her tatty and as for dirty sheets, I'm sorry, just don't believe it.

 

Have to say that cleanliness wasn't an issue in the cabin or around the ship but it was a little tired in the cabin and corridor areas e.g. worn carpets, stains, dented furniture etc. - not in the public rooms though. The one thing I meant to mention in my comparison there was the public area toilets! My gosh, were they ever in order?! It seemed like a constant maintenance on them. One would be broken, the next day it would be fixed and the other two out of order. Became like a treasure hunt to find working facilities! Perhaps that's why the days seemed so short :p

[Mysticalmother]

Thanks for your review bkecky - and the comparison with QV. I have been on QV - a few years back now, and i do agree she is a beautiful ship. But as far as the service was concerned for us we were not impressed at all. We had surly Eastern European dining room staff, and a cabin steward who we hardly saw (although he did keep the cabin very clean) . It was hit and miss in the bars. The food on QV (in Britannia) was OK but the deserts in particular were very pretty - and tasted awful in the main!

So..I am going on Oriana for the first time in May, and I am expecting.....

A clean and spacious cabin and a friendly cabin steward....but the decor may be a bit tired. Hopefully the toilet will be working!:o

Nice food in the MDR ...but not to Cunards Grills standards ( done PG twice!)...but probably on a par with Dining in britannia MDR. If the food is not hot enough it will politely be returned! We found the food on Azura and Arcadia quite acceptable, whilst recognising that fine dining it wasn't.

Very Sociable entertainment staff....or possibly not ....as we are not in our 20's! A varied programme of entertainment, which we are used to from the last couple of years on P&O ships.

We will try the speciality restaurants - we enjoyed Sindhu on the other ships - but have yet to sample a Beach house meal..

All in all, we are looking forward to our upcoming cruise, and the fact that the ship is not new, but is like a ship (rather than a block of flats on the sea) is actually rather appealing!

 

I will come back on here and report my findings in June!

[P&O SUE]

I look forward to your report MM, we went on Oriana in Nov 2014 and loved her! (Other ships we've been on are Azura and Ventura) Love the tiered decks and the Tiffany glass ceiling in the Tiffany bar.

 

I'm surprised bkecky felt the Formal nights weren't very formal, we thought they were very well observed. Even casual nights people were dressed up.

 

Oriana does some interesting itineraries but I do worry about the many bad reports and wonder if it has gone downhill since our cruise. We did notice many public toilets out of action but they didn't really worry us - perhaps because it wasn't very far back to our own cabin where we had no problems. We were in an outside cabin on E deck and it was very stable even though the channel was a little rough.

[jeanlyon]

I've said this before, but will repeat. We went on Azura on her 4th cruise when she was new. Leaking public toilets, most were out of order most of the time. It was quite funny really. It's like people say there is always norovirus on Oriana. It's rubbish, they had norovirus on Azura and loads of other ships. Just like they do in hospitals, schools etc.

[bkecky]

Mysticalmother - I do think it varies, I have to say. There have been occasions when I have been shocked at some attitudes but I speak in general rather than individual cases. I have to say that I felt that Oriana did have that "charm" in terms of being an older ship and I could see why a lot of regulars were so fond of her. I have friends who had been on other P&O ships and they said that the food was of a higher standard. I hope you have a lovely time!

 

P&O Sue - The dress code could have been due to the fact that we were blessed with lovely warm weather and perhaps people just didn't feel like dressing up as much. For us we rarely get a chance to get the sequins and full length gowns out so we tend to probably go over the top. :D

[pkpon]

Having sailed on both ships QV would definitely be my first choice. She is a touch more luxurious than the Oriana.

 

Having said that the food and service on the Oriana were top notch. My only big negative was 'The Conservatory ' which was like being in a transport cafe with nowhere to sit.

Breakfast and lunch in the restaurant were excellent though.

 

If you have ever sailed on the QE2 you will find Oriana

Is more comparable to her.

 

I can understand why Oriana has her many followers with her lovely onboard atmosphere.

[P&O SUE]

Mysticalmother - I do think it varies, I have to say. There have been occasions when I have been shocked at some attitudes but I speak in general rather than individual cases. I have to say that I felt that Oriana did have that "charm" in terms of being an older ship and I could see why a lot of regulars were so fond of her. I have friends who had been on other P&O ships and they said that the food was of a higher standard. I hope you have a lovely time!

 

P&O Sue - The dress code could have been due to the fact that we were blessed with lovely warm weather and perhaps people just didn't feel like dressing up as much. For us we rarely get a chance to get the sequins and full length gowns out so we tend to probably go over the top. :D

 

Fair enough :D Ours was a short cruise in November and 95% of the people were very dressed up!

[bkecky]

Having sailed on both ships QV would definitely be my first choice. She is a touch more luxurious than the Oriana.

 

Having said that the food and service on the Oriana were top notch. My only big negative was 'The Conservatory ' which was like being in a transport cafe with nowhere to sit.

Breakfast and lunch in the restaurant were excellent though.

 

If you have ever sailed on the QE2 you will find Oriana

Is more comparable to her.

 

I can understand why Oriana has her many followers with her lovely onboard atmosphere.

 

It's funny you should say about the QE2 as I thought of the same comparison when I first embarked. When I first went on the QE2 I was 11 years old and had been used to Royal Caribbean and NCL so she looked incredibly old fashioned and dark! Yet on my last voyage on her, I was in tears in the Golden Lion on the last evening that I would never be sailing on her again! Funny how ships can have that effect and I fully understand why some may feel the same way towards Oriana.

[Scriv]

Ours too, P&O Sue, on Oriana, Ventura, Aurora and Oceana...

 

Actually, on our cruise on Queen Elizabeth last year on the Southampton - Hamburg leg, we were really disappointed as although it was a Non Formal dress code, we had been told it would be more like a Smart night on P&O i.e. Jackets and nice dresses etc. and dressed accordingly.

 

Well, it wasn't :( Very few seemed to have made a real effort at all but we and some others who also felt the same decided to go on and dress up anyway even though we were in the minority.

 

Not sure why this was the case unless it was because a lot of German people were on board and didn't go in for dressing up?? The ship was going on to the Baltics via Kiel.

 

I agree Queen Elizabeth was a more elegant ship to Oriana, but I do prefer the warmth of the staff on P&O and because Oriana was our first experience of a cruise ship, I guess she will always have a special place in our hearts.

Edited February 14, 2016 by Scriv